


all the store lights shining so bright (warm the chill in the air)

by enaxii



Category: Cytus (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:54:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22172875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enaxii/pseuds/enaxii
Summary: Aroma follows the shopkeeper to the counter, and she’s counting notes out (Paff owns some fifteen credit cards; Aroma currently owns zero,) when she hears the shopkeeper speak.“Are you buying that for anyone?”
Relationships: Asakura Neko | NEKO#ΦωΦ/Aroma White | Paff
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40





	all the store lights shining so bright (warm the chill in the air)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [myriadslashes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/myriadslashes/gifts).



It’s cold. Winter has come, and the chilly rain soaks Aroma, sticking her clothes to her skin despite the forlorn umbrella held overhead.

All around her are cheery shoppers out for Christmas shopping despite the weather, the lively chatter and hums of cars whizzing by an accompaniment to the upbeat Christmas tunes being blasted from shop speakers. Aroma thinks that she can almost hear one of Neko’s songs, and she smiles at the thought.

The bright lights of the shopfronts and colourful advertisements wreathed with Christmas lights is a little overwhelming, so Aroma moves on from where she had been squinting through the display window to the next shop over.

It is two days before Christmas, and she had barely managed to convince Neko to take some time to herself and visit some of her favourite haunts without Aroma. It’s all a plan for Aroma to sneak out and buy Neko a Christmas present without said girl knowing, but now that Aroma’s outside, she’s rapidly running out of shops and time.

Her first stop, of course, had been the game shop. Neko always appreciated new games to stream, and Aroma knows that there are a few games that Neko has her eye on. But yet, as is the problem with last minute shopping, the game shop was completely sold out of games that Neko didn’t already own. Aroma couldn’t stay much longer to find out if the staff had any other games in stock when one of the attendants started to stare suspiciously at her.

Her next stop was an electronics shop, for a new pair of headphones, or perhaps the newest version of Meowbot. Neko loves her Meowbots and would never reject having an extra one or three. Unfortunately, she ran into the same roadblock at the electronics shop that she did in the games shop, and anything interesting had all been sold out.

This leaves Aroma at the front of clothing shops, trying to find the perfect clothes, but none of them seemed... catty, enough. Not enough of them have cat ears, anyway.

Now thoroughly out of ideas, Aroma fights off a sneeze while she ducks into a cafe to escape the rain. She drips water over the floor, but at least there’s no more water getting on  _ her _ .

Perhaps Aroma could get Neko a new umbrella because this one obviously doesn’t cut it.

10 minutes later and armed with a hot cup of tea, Aroma sets out once more for the open streets. Thankfully, the rain seems to have let up somewhat, and the umbrella is finally able to do its job. Less thankfully, Aroma is still wet, cold, and idea-less. She lingers outside the cafe for a while, trying to figure which shop to go to next, when a display across the street catches her eye. A cake shop, complete with the last cake sitting in the display case.

Perhaps this is some deity’s way of apologising for Aroma’s terrible luck in the past three hours because  _ the cake is cat-themed _ .

Neko had told her, once, that her family never really celebrated festivals coming from Node 3. Christmas had always been business as usual, perhaps with just an addition of small presents and a barely fancier dinner.

_ “Cake,” _ she had said,  _ “was very rare! We couldn’t really afford to spend money on it, you see. And now, Neko’s used to not having cake, so I don’t need it!” _

Aroma is across the street as soon as the pedestrian light turns green and soon, she’s in the bakery. Aroma cringes a little when she recognises the Christmas song being played as one of her own, but no one has taken the cake yet and that’s all that matters.

“Can I help you, Miss?”

Aroma turns around, startled by the shopkeeper. The corners of her eyes are crinkled, and her smile is genuine despite the obviously tiring day she must have had so far tending the bakery in the middle of the Christmas season.

“Ah, um, I’d like to buy that cake...?”

Aroma returns the smile, calling up her inner Paff. Even then, her smile is a little shaky around the edges.

“Of course!”

The shopkeeper disappears behind the counter, and soon the cake is packed securely into a box.

Aroma follows the shopkeeper to the counter, and she’s counting notes out (Paff owns some fifteen credit cards; Aroma currently owns zero,) when she hears the shopkeeper speak.

“Are you buying that for anyone?”

Aroma falters in her movements, looking up from her wallet to meet the shop keeper’s gaze. Common sense tells her to ignore the shop keeper’s question, but there’s something akin to understanding in the other’s eyes that... almost reminds her of Neko, in her quieter moments, when Aroma’s woken her up with another nightmare but Neko only holds her close and shushes her apologies.

It’s with a warm feeling that starts in her heart that Aroma says, “Yes... It’s for someone I love.”

“If they can make you smile like that, then I’m sure they’re someone very special.”

The shopkeeper doesn’t say anything else after that, accepting the cash that Aroma passes to her. But before she leaves, the shop keeper catches her hand across the counter.

“Thank you for the purchase, and Merry Christmas, Paff.”

Aroma jolts, but the shopkeeper only smiles knowingly and makes a shooing gesture. Aroma scuttles out of the bakery before she’s recognised by any more of the staff, but thankfully no one else seems to have noticed her and Aroma manages to escape back into the streets.

The rain has completely stopped, now, and Aroma’s heart is pounding. Despite the shopkeeper knowing Aroma to be the missing Paff, she didn’t say anything, didn’t even try to take a picture which surely could have been sold for quite a high price to the press and tabloids.

_ “Merry Christmas, Paff.” _

Aroma thinks that she’s smiled more in the last 20 minutes than in the entire day, and it’s with festivity in her heart that she half-sprints back to the train station, cake clutched protectively to her chest.

When she gets home (when did Aroma start thinking of Neko’s house as  _ home _ ?), the lights are on. Aroma barely has time to feel shocked before she’s set upon by an angry Neko.

“Aroma!! Where were you?! When Neko came home and you weren’t there I was so, so  _ worried _ !! I was just about to call Joe and Linda and go out to search for you!”

Neko’s clinging onto her, and Aroma can see that Neko’s eyes are shimmering with tears despite her furious words. In the dim light of the hallway, Aroma finds that it only makes Neko’s eyes shine even brighter.

“I-I’m sorry... I just-“

Neko looks down at the cake box that Aroma is holding.

“Is that cake? Did you go out to buy me a  _ cake _ ?”

Neko’s voice is disbelieving and Aroma shrinks down at that.

“I just wanted to buy something for Neko for Christmas... I’m sorry for making you worry...”

Neko finally lets go of Aroma and steps back, her expression incredulous but thoughtful. Finally, she just sighs.

“Look at you, you’re all wet. This is exactly how you met Neko, isn’t it? You’ll have to take a shower too. At this rate, you’re going to catch a cold...”

Aroma sneezes at that moment, almost as if agreeing with Neko’s point.

Neko takes the cake and places it on the kitchen counter, before gently leading Aroma to her room to find her some clothes for a shower.

It is afterwards, when Aroma is sat on the floor and Neko on the bed, combing out the tangles in Aroma’s freshly-washed hair, that Neko whispers, “Merry Christmas, Aroma. Thank you.”

Neko’s touch on Aroma’s head is gentle, and she falls asleep while Neko’s still combing her hair, humming a Christmas carol.

**Author's Note:**

> short and sweet! i wrote this almost a year back, but never posted it haha. currently very slowly working on another nekopaff (started it back when we were still on 2.4... orz), we'll see if i ever finish it.


End file.
